New Amsterdam (2018) s01e14 Episode Script

The Foresaken

1 [FRANK SINATRA'S "THEME FROM NEW YORK, NEW YORK".]
Start spreading the news I'm leaving today I want to - [CRASHING.]
- [CAR ALARMS BEEPING.]
Uh, Dr.
Candelario.
Max.
Either you're getting faster or I'm getting slower.
Oh, since you're my boss, let's just say - I'm getting faster.
- Oh, that's very kind of you.
Thank you, by the way, for taking charge while Bloom's on vacation.
I know it's short notice.
- Vacation? - Yeah.
About time.
They took Dr.
Bloom off the schedule for two weeks.
It's not a problem.
Uh, maybe add another two weeks.
She's acquired a lot of vacation.
In that case, I'd like to make a couple changes around here to make things more efficient.
Efficient.
I love efficient.
What kind of efficient? First I wanna switch the nurses' scheduling to a seniority-based point system - Good.
- It rewards loyalty.
Nice.
Second, I want ED to start using a supply chain tracking software for instant restocking of critical items.
Smart.
And third, no more double and triple shifts.
Personnel need rest or people die.
Sounds like you should be doing my job.
Jumper off a six-story building.
Landed on a parked minivan.
160 over 90, 158.
Intubated in the field but with continued trouble oxygenating on 100%.
Jumper landed on his chest.
Obliterated the integrity of the chest wall.
[BEEPING.]
Absent breath sounds on the left - with tracheal deviation.
- Grab me a blood gas kit.
- I need a chest tube set up.
- Thank you.
Punch through the intercostal muscle and get a tube in.
And Got it.
Run an I-STAT ABG.
Thank you.
Do we know who this guy is? Cell phone, wallet? Go ahead and start antibiotics prophylaxis.
Another vet.
It's a Marine.
Alex Demos.
War never ends.
Battlefield rules.
Treat now, mourn later.
We need to know the volume of the evacuated wound.
Yeah I could go and let you be free Do you really, really want to be free Do you want me to make you free Try it for myself and be free See how it suits me Billy, leave those people alone.
We're gonna get kicked out of here.
I hope we land somewhere with a bed.
You were right.
It's nice to be spontaneous.
Nice enough to do it again? Yeah, you can't plan spontaneity.
[MOANS.]
People are staring.
Free you act like you want to be free Yeah, you're right.
We should probably take this somewhere else.
Do you really, really want to be free You want me to make you free [LAUGHS.]
Absolutely not.
See what you can do is you can go Be free to be me Like the birds in the sky like the breeze in the trees Like water off a duck's back No baby I'm not looking back no You just lived for me The past left at dawn See the mountain had brought a new song And do you know what it's called it's free And you'll wipe your slate clean Take me to your river I wanna go home Oh Was I too loud? Where have you been hiding that voice? In the shower.
[LAUGHING.]
We gotta take more showers together.
[LAUGHING.]
- Sheesh.
- Thank you.
Where did you come from? Uh, Chicago.
No, I mean, how did you end up in my life? Our friend Lauren introduced us.
- Our friend Lauren? - Mm-hmm.
I forgot.
[BOTH LAUGHING.]
I I what? Uh I am going to take you to the greatest dinner tonight.
Can't wait.
[KISSES.]
I [SIGHS.]
- Don't.
- What? Don't say it.
I'm just gonna say this one thing.
I tell Martin I love him, like, 97 times a day.
That's it.
I'm out.
Have a good one.
[PERCUSSIVE MUSIC.]
Dr.
Kapoor.
Neuro consult's in Bay 24.
Something feels different around here.
Calmer.
Dr.
Bloom's on vacation.
I have a strict policy of calm efficiency.
No hysterics, no yelling.
Just simple patient care.
Nothing makes me happier than the words "calm efficiency.
" Good.
Then you and I are gonna make a great team.
- Very good.
- Uh, just one thing.
I have a Ten D-or-D policy.
You have ten minutes per patient to diagnose or discharge.
Keeps the patients moving through.
- Ten minutes? - Ten minutes.
I don't think that's possible because Rumination disorder, six and a half minutes.
Ten minutes it is.
[ELEVATOR DINGS.]
Ah, just the man I wanted to see.
Really? I haven't implemented any policies that even slightly resemble socialism today, but it is still early.
- What is that god-awful smell? - It's breakfast.
It's a bagel, uh, cream cheese, lox, capers, blended to perfection and about all my throat - can handle right now.
- Max.
- Yeah.
- I need you to help me.
Yeah, well, how can I, uh, you know SO, Karen Brantley is out of control.
- The new chair of the board? - Yep.
She's just another billionaire who thinks that her business acumen makes her an expert on healthcare.
Well, who better to make decisions for a public hospital than somebody who will never step foot in one? Right, but she's trying to push the board into restructuring New Amsterdam into a profit center.
Ah, yeah, kinda goes against our whole - being a patient center.
- Exactly.
And I'm the only one on the board who's willing to stand up to her.
Well, I would have your back if I was on the board.
- Max, you are on the board.
- I am? You are, you just never attend meetings.
So I need you to talk to Karen Brantley.
I need you to give her the full Max.
- Just turn this around.
- Yeah, consider it turned.
- Done.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
- Don't take the smoothie.
Miss? It's kinda cold out here.
Do you wanna come inside the hospital? Miss? [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Excuse me.
Excuse me! [GASPS.]
Found down, unresponsive, pinpoint pupils, respiratory rate of five.
Looks like an opioid overdose.
I need an intranasal Narcan.
Rashes and blisters all over.
Are you on it? Get a tube in.
[GASPS.]
[COUGHING.]
Where am I? - My bag.
Where's my bag? - Whoa.
She's probably looking for her stash.
What did you do with my bag? What did you do with my bag?! - Calm down.
- I have to get out of here! - Ma'am, ma'am, ma'am! - No, I need my bag! Please! Please.
[BABY CRYING.]
[BABY CRYING.]
She can't be more than a week old.
- Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
- How bad? Finnegan score is through the roof.
Good thing you found her when you did.
She wouldn't have lasted more than an hour out there.
Is she gonna be okay? [BABY CRYING.]
Go and talk to the mother.
I'll take it from here.
[BABY CRYING.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Wendy, your baby is suffering from opioid withdrawal.
You're gonna be feeling it soon, too.
Is there someone that we can call for you? And your baby? Are you sure? Hm.
I didn't mean to hurt her.
I just couldn't I couldn't quit.
I tried.
I swear I tried.
[BABY CRYING.]
What's her name? I never gave her one.
Another vet.
Yeah, Alex Demos was lucky surviving a six story fall.
Uh-huh, and appears to be heavily sedated for surgical transport.
Bit of an obstacle when it comes to talk therapy.
So, what's going on? What am I doing here? We need answers he can't give.
We found these on him and this is not his first rodeo.
Yeah.
See, these fractures are from today, but these are all healed fractures.
Oh, yeah.
He's undergone massive, repeated trauma.
That is some rodeo.
This guy's intent on hurting himself, and he's gonna keep trying unless we can help him.
Yeah, okay.
All right, let me reach out to my contacts at the VA.
See what I can find out.
Okay.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Headaches started around the time my in-laws moved in.
Maybe it's psychosomatic.
But joint pain is not.
Hi, hon.
You doing okay? Can I get you anything? I'm fine, Irene.
I don't think you're supposed to be back here.
Oh, sorry.
I'm around if you need me.
[LIGHT PERCUSSIVE MUSIC.]
Oh, yes.
One second, please.
Sorry, I need more time.
You've had ten minutes.
But Mrs.
Laghari's tests are inconclusive.
I need a more detailed medical history.
So, ten more minutes, please.
In the spirit of calm efficiency.
- Ten more minutes.
- Thank you.
But not more.
Someone page me? - Yeah, jumper in trauma one.
- Uh-huh.
And heads up.
Night shift rules today.
- Candelario's in charge.
- Where's Bloom? Vacation.
- Bloom's on vacation? - I know.
I hope it's not a sign of the apocalypse.
Sort of sudden.
- She say where she was going? - Nope.
Nor is it any of my concern.
Neither is the color of her favorite swimsuit or whether she packed an appropriate sunscreen.
What is my concern is my patients.
Here in the ED.
[MONITORS BEEPING.]
Was just curious.
All I know is that Max asked me to take her off the schedule for the next four weeks.
Four weeks? "Out of the night that covers me, "black as the pit from pole to pole, - I thank whatever gods may be" - Six units of B-positive.
You mean A-positive, right? His chart says A-positive from the dog tags we found on him.
Then his dog tags are barking the wrong tune.
Type and cross says B-Positive.
Hey, hey, that that is not Alex Demos.
It's definitely starting to seem that way.
Yeah, called my friends at the VA, and Alex Demos is a woman.
That's not a woman.
Oh, guess that explains why this guy isn't A-Positive.
Yeah.
So then what the hell is he doing with her dog tags? [PERCUSSIVE MUSIC.]
- Karen Brantley.
- Max.
Thanks for meeting me.
I appreciate the lunch invitation.
I'm not familiar with Le Chariot Du Chien.
- Is it new? - [CHUCKLES.]
Uh, see, they use these, um, croissants instead of hot dog buns, so - Nice touch.
[CHUCKLES.]
- Yeah.
Um You're not joining me? Mmm, drinking mine, actually.
It's, uh, chili cheese fries and, uh and a little bit of chocolate shake.
It's, uh, not bad.
[CHUCKLES.]
So, I thought maybe we should discuss some of your proposed, uh, changes for New Amsterdam.
I'm going to assume you already talked with Dean Fulton so let me save you the trouble of delivering the rousing speech you no doubt prepared.
[CHUCKLES.]
I don't know if I'd say rousing.
It was stirring, maybe, but I believe we can turn New Amsterdam into a profit center while still putting patients first.
You do? The Dean sees everything as black or white, good or bad.
Which is why the board thinks it's time for a different Dean.
They what? The board's calling a vote to terminate Fulton's contract.
Tonight's meeting.
Well Wow, when were you planning on telling Dean Fulton this? Tonight.
Look, Max, I like you.
You think outside the box.
Renting an apartment for that homeless person, reallocating obsolete resources to service the Sheepshead Bay area, you're actually making money.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
- And helping people.
- See? We can do both.
You, me, and a new Dean.
What do you say? Mmm.
Miss Birdwell, it's Uh, where's Wendy Birdwell, the baby's mother? Nobody told you? She left.
Wait, h her baby's still in the PIC-U.
It's not her baby anymore.
She Safe Haven surrendered her.
[BABY CRYING.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
How's she doing? Well, she's deficient in almost every category.
And she can't keep any formula down.
Jenny says that it's the worst case of NAS she's ever seen.
They think that she might lapse into seizures.
We'll get her through it.
How? How does she get through withdrawal and recovery without her mother? Her mother didn't even give her a name.
Maybe Safe Haven surrender was a good choice.
No choice here is good.
She's just so tiny and helpless.
Baby Doe isn't responding to treatment.
To any of it? If anything, it's making her worse.
Jenny, what about rooming in? It'd be worth a try, but not without the mother.
What is that? NAS babies are sensitive to stimulus and the PIC-U's a noisy place.
Rooming in is skin-to-skin contact in a calm environment to soothe the baby.
But it requires constant holding and frequent feeding from the baby's mother.
I'll do it.
Helen I can't let that baby suffer anymore.
[BABY CRYING.]
Okay, thank you.
- Uh, Dr.
Frome? - Yes? Uh, I'm Alex Demos.
The VA told me you found my dog tags.
Yes, we did.
Um Yeah, I have them here.
Mustafa wasn't a soldier.
He was our Iraqi interpreter.
Interpreters aren't, uh they're not part of the unit? Um, not officially, no.
But he went everywhere with us.
- Mm.
- Took enemy fire with us.
- Saved the whole unit more than once.
- Mmm.
I mean, that's why I gave him my dog tags when we pulled out.
So he'd always know he was one of us.
Mustafa's body, um, had seen a lot of trauma.
A lot of broken bones.
Do you know why he would want to harm himself? [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Mustafa didn't do that.
Al-Qaeda did.
Ah.
After we left, they found out he'd been working for us.
They killed his father and then they took him.
Oh, my God.
Okay, all right.
So, after he was released, he became suicidal.
No.
I mean, he was different for sure.
They took something from him.
I could see he was in pain, but he was just focused on getting out of Iraq, coming here, starting over.
It took five years and all of us writing letters of recommendation for his visa, but we got him here.
What was it like once he got here? Happy.
We all went to the airport.
The whole unit.
And he seemed so excited to start his new life.
So then why did he jump? How's that headache diagnosis coming? Dr.
Kao gave me her ten minutes.
[PERCUSSIVE MUSIC.]
Tell me about it.
Strawberry banana.
Promise.
[BRUCE HORNSBY'S "THE WAY IT IS".]
This is quite the consolation prize for losing my job.
Oh, it hasn't happened yet.
Doesn't matter.
Tonight is fait accompli.
You know, Max, this can't be good for you, either.
With me gone they could just as easily bench you before your cancer does.
Just for fun he says get a job Wow.
I'll be damned.
It's not like that.
What did she offer you? Brantley said she likes the changes I've made and she wants me to Some things will never change Keep making them.
Of course she does.
The knife twists better that way.
Peter Ah but don't you believe them Okay, let me just ask you something, just out of courtesy.
Are you gonna vote with her? Said hey little boy you can't go where the others go I'm gonna do what's best for this hospital.
'Cause you don't look like they do Hey, let me talk to you for a second.
All right, so Bloom's on vacation? - Yeah.
- [SCOFFS.]
That's it? She just - She just dropped everything? - What do you expect? She's been pulling doubles.
Doubles on top of doubles.
And she wouldn't chill it with the Adderall.
It was out of control.
My girl, she just needed a break.
I just thank God they finally made her.
Whoa, whoa.
Who made her? Wait, you thought she was actually on vacation? [CALM MUSIC.]
[COOING.]
She's not crying or shaking anymore.
I'd call that progress.
She looks almost peaceful.
Almost.
What's going on in there? It's just, um, I was just thinking about this morning.
How nothing was normal.
What's ever normal around here? My mornings usually are.
But today everything was It was out of whack.
I was coming back from Philly.
Totally different schedule.
Different subways.
I didn't even come into the hospital the same way.
Hmm.
Well, you can't think about that, the what if you hadn't found her.
Well, no, it's not that.
Do you ever feel like like the universe is trying to tell you something? Only all the time.
You know how much I want to have a baby.
And my body hasn't exactly been cooperating.
What if the universe brought us together? Helen What if Zuhrah is the baby that I was meant to have? - Zuhrah? - [STAMMERS.]
I couldn't keep calling her Baby Doe.
She needed a name.
She did.
I've always loved Zuhrah.
For a girl.
If I had a girl.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[PERCUSSIVE MUSIC.]
I'm giving Dr.
Kapoor my ten minutes.
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER.]
You.
I've tried to be very patient with you, Dr.
Kapoor.
Ten minute consults.
It's not that complicated.
It's not enough time.
Well, it is for everyone else.
My ED, my rules.
Not Dr.
Bloom's.
For someone who does not want to run things like Dr.
Bloom, you sound exactly like her.
[SIGHS.]
Incoming! What the hell happened? Janitor says the Dean just collapsed in the hall outside your office.
Dean, we're gonna take good care - I got this, I got this.
- Board meeting.
I have to go to the board meeting.
Don't worry about that.
Just worry about getting you healthy.
Give me nitro and let's set up an IV stat.
Okay? Thank you.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Max, we were wondering what was taking so long.
Peter had a heart attack at New Amsterdam.
- What? - But he's gonna be all right.
We expect him to make a quick and full recovery.
Oh, well, that's good to hear.
Honestly, there was no better place for him to have had it than right here surrounded by an amazing staff who appreciate him almost as much as the esteemed members of this board.
I mean, I know I do.
He never backs down from a fight, does he? Always pushes me to do what's best for our hospital.
I can't be the medical director I am without him.
Anyway, uh, he sends along his heartfelt thanks for your ongoing support.
[DOOR OPENS.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
How's your how's your pain? How's your pain level? I've learned to live with it.
Alex told me about what happened in Iraq.
You've been through a lot.
Mustafa, what doesn't Alex know? Nothing.
I can't She can't ever find out.
She'll think it was her fault.
- She's done so much for me.
- Okay, it's okay.
It's all right.
Anything you say, it's between us.
All right? This whole thing.
I thought everything would be better when I came here.
Some things were.
Alex, her family, they tried to make me feel at home.
But when I'd go out To the movies, the store, to look for a job People just looked at me like I was a terrorist.
Some even said it to my face.
So much for "support our troops", huh? What about going home? You ever think of doing that? I can't.
There, I'm a traitor.
Because you worked for us.
I thought maybe here in the city I could meet other Iraqis.
Be part of a community.
But they don't They weren't in the war.
They don't understand.
There's no one that I can I don't belong anywhere.
Alex.
- Hey.
- Hi.
How is he? You know, I'm I'm not gonna lie.
He's got a a long road back from here.
But the good news is I can get him into a program here at our clinic for torture survivors, and they will be able to provide him with a lot of the therapy he needs, both mentally and physically.
But Oh, he's gonna need more than that, isn't he? Yeah.
Well, just tell me what I need to do.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
You finished? Hmm? Oh.
Okay.
Well, you don't have to be so bossy about it.
[KISSES.]
[CHUCKLES.]
Actually Be bossy.
Tell me what you want, when you want it.
You tell the world, little one.
You deserve to be heard and I promise to hear you always.
[KISSES.]
[EXHALES.]
Jenny was just in to take her vitals.
She told me.
Treatment seems to be working.
Yeah.
You wouldn't believe how much calmer she is.
She's synching to my heartbeat.
Like I'm her mom.
[CHUCKLES.]
Please don't look at me like that.
I mean, would it really be so crazy if I wanted to adopt her? What? There's someone here to see the baby.
Wendy gave her up.
It's not Wendy.
It's the baby's father.
Do you understand that Zuhrah was born addicted to opioids? That her mother was doing drugs while she was pregnant with her? Why didn't you get her help? I tried.
She didn't listen.
We broke up, like, uh, eight eight months ago.
Moved up to Poughkeepsie.
I I didn't know about the baby.
Not till three hours ago.
And, uh, why did Wendy change her mind? Because this morning she didn't want Dr.
Sharpe to call anyone.
Maybe she came down off the drugs.
Maybe she actually realized what she'd done.
Wendy's not a she's not a bad person.
She just got caught up in all this.
She had a bad fall.
Um, doctors prescribed her Oxy.
She never got off it.
[SOMBER MUSIC.]
I didn't know that she was pregnant.
Or I I'd have stayed.
I'd have made her get help.
So that things could be better for my daughter.
And and I want I want to step up.
I wanna do, uh, he right thing.
I want to take her home.
Yeah.
It's not that easy.
You got hoops? I'll jump through them.
Whatever it takes.
Yeah, okay.
We'll set you up with a social worker and get things started.
Awesome.
Thank you.
Yeah.
And, uh and thank you, doc.
For everything that you've done for her.
I'll be a good dad to her.
I swear.
[DOOR CLOSES.]
You're all set, Ms.
Laghari.
Thanks for listening, Dr.
Kapoor.
Okay, after that marathon, I gotta know.
What was your final diagnosis? Lyme Disease.
Lyme Disease? 300,000 people get diagnosed with Lyme Disease every year.
Why did it take you all shift to come up with that? I let her complain about her in-laws.
She talked about her trips to Minnesota to help them sell their home.
I learned of their affinity for, uh, fly fishing.
Near a breeding ground for ticks.
- Well done.
- Agreed.
You know, when Dr.
Bloom is in charge, my methods go unnoticed.
But your ED ran so efficiently today that those same methods stood out.
Was there a compliment in there somewhere, D.
Kapoor? There might have been.
[PERCUSSIVE MUSIC.]
[CHUCKLES.]
Oh, man.
You should have seen their faces.
Totally bought it.
I'm sure you gave them the full Max.
I know you thought that the fake heart attack thing was a little over the top, but go big or go home, right? Right.
I gotta tell you, I think you're doing amazing things at the hospital.
Staff loves you.
Patients thank God for you every day.
And I think for me, hiring you is the smartest thing I've done in 50 years of medicine.
All right, you're gonna give me a fake heart attack.
No, but I'm I'm just glad I got you here - before it's too late.
- Too late? What are you she's gonna call any second with the terms - of your new contract.
I - Max, Max, Max.
She already called.
I'm out.
- No, let me let me call her.
- Max.
It's done.
I'm out.
I know where Bloom is.
Floyd, we can't talk about that.
Look, I know there are processes in place, and I don't wanna compromise you.
Okay, so then what are we doing here? Well, you're a therapist, aren't you? You could listen.
Okay, yeah, I can.
Come here.
I am struggling here, man.
I just I can't help but feel that I'm You know, I thought I was her friend.
But then I don't see this coming.
I mean, how is that even possible? I just keep thinking that had I asked the right questions, you know, or if I had said the right thing and not No, Floyd, this is not on you.
Yeah, but she's my friend and she needed my help.
And I wasn't there.
You need to trust the process.
You need to let her have the space she needs to work through this on her own.
That's it.
This is not something that you can fix.
Do you understand? Okay, good.
[LEON BRIDGES' "RIVER".]
She's beautiful.
Do you want to hold her? [BABY COOING.]
[LAUGHING.]
- Hey there, little one.
- Been traveling these wide roads I'm your dad.
For so long [LAUGHS.]
Uh, I hope you don't mind if she keeps the name.
Kinda suits her.
Uh, what's it mean, anyway? Oh I wanna come here It means brightness.
Every part of me Because that's what she'll bring to your life.
And my lips aren't clean In my darkness I remember Hey, you up for some visitors? Reoccur to me surrender to the good Lord And he'll wipe your slate clean Take me to your river I want to go For you, brother.
Oh go on Take me to your river I want to know You're one of us.
Always.
Dip me in your smooth waters I go in As a man with many crimes Come up for air Hi.
I owe you an apology.
I wasn't honest with you this morning.
So you are not taking me to the greatest dinner tonight? [LAUGHS.]
But there's blood on my hands I love you.
And my lips aren't clean - And I just, uh - Take me to your river I just can't leave anything unsaid anymore.
You are the person I never thought I'd find.
The person I want to travel with.
- Build things with.
- [LAUGHS.]
Learn things from.
What do you need to learn? How to be a better friend.
Look, I, uh I can't go to dinner with you tonight.
There's someone going through something and I have to be there.
A friend? A mutual friend.
Wanna know, wanna know, wanna know Go be a good friend.
For both of us.
Wanna know, wanna know, wanna know Ooh oh whoa Take me to your river I wanna go Are you okay? I came as soon as I could.
[GRUNTS.]
I need to ask you something.
And you're gonna think I'm crazy for asking you now.
Just ask.
I know that we haven't been seeing each other for very long and it's way too soon to be having this conversation but I am getting too old not to have this conversation.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Oh.
I want to have a child.
And I need to know how you feel about kids because I I've been trying to find a way to talk to you about the same thing.
You have? I love kids.
I wanted to tell you sooner.
I just, um Had to be sure.
About? Us.
[DOOR OPENING.]
There's someone here to see you.

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